Boxing Scotland has announced that the Scottish Boxing Championship is to be held in Glasgow.

The country's best boxers will participate in the final of the event at the Emirates Arena on Friday March 28.

The finals, which are the biggest boxing championships of their kind to be hosted in Scotland, are expected to draw a capacity crowd of over 5,000.

Many of the boxers competing are in contention for being chosen for the Commonwealth Games squad.

The event will give them the opportunity to showcase their abilities ahead of the Games this summer, and also find out who will be crowned the Scottish champion.

Richard Thomas, chairman of Boxing Scotland, said: "What's unique about this particular championship is that a lot of the boxers are in contention for the Commonwealth Games.

"I think for me, the new changes to what was previously amateur boxing, with the removal of the head guards, and a 10-point must scoring system - if you've not seen this style of boxing, it's a must that you come along and see this.

"To box for Scotland on home soil, I don't think there's anything better."

The first weekend of championship action will take place at the Scotstoun Sports Campus on February 22/23, and further rounds take place at Tollcross International Swimming Centre the following weekend.

Commonwealth Games hopeful Lewis Benson, from Edinburgh, said: "It's absolutely massive for me, and I've got a lot of pressure on my back as I've won the championship for the past two years, so I'm going for three in a row, and I'm ready for it."

He added: "I couldn't think of anything bigger, this is what I've been training for, so I just hope I can make the team for Scotland."

Tickets for the Scottish Boxing Championships are available from Boxing Scotland, with special offers available to member clubs.

They will also be available online at www.tickets-scotland.com from Saturday.